The use of fluorescent reporter protein tagging to study the interaction between Root‐Knot Nematodes and Soft Rot Enterobacteriaceae

The study of plant parasitic nematodes such as Meloidogyne spp. and their interactions with phytopathogenic bacteria remains underexplored. One of the challenges towards establishing such interactions is the dependence on symptom development as a measure of interaction. In this study, mCherry was employed as a reporter protein to investigate the interaction between the soft rot Enterobacteriaceae (SRE) Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. brasiliensis (Pcb) and root‐knot nematode (M. incognita). Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. brasiliensis was transformed with pMP7604 generating Pcb_mCherry strain. This strain was shown to attach to the surface coat of M.incognita J2 at the optimum temperature of 28°C. This suggests that RKN juveniles may play a role in disseminating Pcb in soils that are heavily infested with Pcb. The presence of RKN juveniles was shown to play a role in introducing Pcb_mCherry into potato tubers potentially acting as a source of latent tuber infections.

Significance and Impact of the Study

This study uses fluorescent reporter protein tagging as a tool to demonstrate the interaction between root‐knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) and the soft rot Enterobacteriacea (Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. brasiliensis). Introduction of Pectobacterium through wounds generated by second‐stage juveniles (J2) into potato tubers was demonstrated. These results suggest that RKN juveniles can facilitate latent infection of potato tubers in the soil. These findings have important implications in the management of RKN and SRE in seed potato production. Furthermore, this tool can be used to study other nematode–bacteria interactions that have not been previously studied.     

Phosphorylation of the ARE-binding protein DAZAP1 by ERK2 induces its dissociation from DAZ

A protein in RAW 264.7 macrophages, which became phosphorylated in response to LPS (lipopolysaccharide), was identified as the RNA-binding protein called DAZAP1 [DAZ (deleted in azoospermia)-associated protein 1]. The phosphorylation of this protein was prevented by specific inhibition of MKK1 [MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) kinase 1], indicating that it was phosphorylated via the classical MAPK cascade. Further experiments showed that DAZAP1 was phosphorylated stoichiometrically in vitro by ERK2 (extracellular-signal-regulated protein kinase 2) at two Thr-Pro sequences (Thr269 and Thr315), and that both sites became phosphorylated in HEK-293 (human embryonic kidney 293) cells in response to PMA or EGF (epidermal growth factor), or RAW 264.7 macrophages in response to LPS. Phosphorylation induced by each stimulus was prevented by two structurally distinct inhibitors of MKK1 (PD184352 and U0126), demonstrating that DAZAP1 is a physiological substrate for ERK1/ERK2. The mutation of Thr269 and Thr315 to aspartate or the phosphorylation of these residues caused DAZAP1 to dissociate from its binding partner DAZ. DAZ interacts with PABP [poly(A)-binding protein] and thereby stimulates the translation of mRNAs containing short poly(A) tails [Collier, Gorgoni, Loveridge, Cooke and Gray (2005) EMBO J. 24, 2656-2666]. In the present study we have shown that DAZ cannot bind simultaneously to DAZAP1 and PABP, and suggest that the phosphorylation-induced dissociation of DAZ and DAZAP1 may allow the former to stimulate translation by interacting with PABP.     

A quorum sensing‐defective mutant of Pectobacterium carotovorum ssp. brasiliense 1692 is attenuated in virulence and unable to occlude xylem tissue of susceptible potato plant stems

Pectobacterium carotovorum ssp. brasiliense 1692 (Pcb1692) is an important emerging pathogen of potatoes causing blackleg in the field and soft rot during post‐harvest storage. Blackleg diseases involve the bacterial colonization of vascular tissue and the formation of aggregates, also known as biofilms. To understand the role of quorum sensing in vascular colonization by Pcb1692, we generated a Pcb1692ΔexpI mutant strain. Inactivation of expI led to the reduced production of plant cell wall‐degrading enzymes (PCWDEs), the inability to produce acyl homoserine lactone (AHL) and reduced virulence in potato tubers and stems. Complementation of the mutant strain with the wild‐type expI gene in trans successfully restored AHL and PCWDE production as well as virulence. Transmission electron microscopy and in vitro motility assays demonstrated hyperpiliation and loss of flagella and swimming motility in the mutant strain compared with the wild‐type Pcb1692. Furthermore, we noted that, in the early stages of infection, Pcb1692 wild‐type cells had intact flagella which were shed at the later stages of infection. Confocal laser microscopy of PcbΔexpI‐inoculated plants showed that the mutant strain tended to aggregate in intercellular spaces, but was unable to transit to xylem tissue. On the contrary, the wild‐type strain was often observed forming aggregates within xylem tissue of potato stems. Gene expression analyses confirmed that flagella are part of the quorum sensing regulon, whereas fimbriae and pili appear to be negatively regulated by quorum sensing. The relative expression levels of other important putative virulence genes, such as those encoding different groups of PCWDEs, were down‐regulated in the mutant compared with the wild‐type strain.     

Biotransformation of (+)limonene and (-)piperitone by yeasts and yeast-like fungi

Arxula adeninivorans and Yarrowia lipolytica converted (+)limonene to perillic acid (0.06 and 1.0 g/l; yield 3% and 50%) and (-)piperitone to 7-hydroxy-piperitone (0.06 and 0.04 g/l; yield 12% and 8%). Two unclassified strains of the basidiomycetes, Trichosporon, transformed (+)limonene to isopiperitenone (0.05 and 0.4 g/l; yield 2% and 20%) and trans-1,2-dihydroxy-limonene (0.6 g/l; yield 30%) and (-)piperitone to trans-6-hydroxy-piperitone (0.1 and 0.2 g/l; yield 20% and 40%) and 2-isopropyl-5-methyl-hydroquinone (0.8 g/l; yield 16%).